This course
moves very quickly.As you read the assigned chapters in Entwistle’s
textbook, I want to remind you that at the end of Week #4,
you will be required to complete a summary of the entire
Entwistle textbook.In addition, your quiz at the end of Week #2 will
draw upon the chapters you have read as well as the
presentations you will be watching from Modules 1 & 2.If you “step back” and prepare for these tasks in
advance, you will be much more likely to succeed in this
class.

Comprehensive Exam

In addition
to its relevance to the current class, some of the material
you will learn in this course will be directly relevant to
the “Integration” section of your Comprehensive Exam (CE)
(taken at the end of your coursework in the program).Therefore, as you read and proceed through the
chapters in Entwistle, it would be a good idea to print out
and consult the “Integration
Exam Study Guide.” As
you come across information relevant to the questions
contained in the CE Study Guide, you can enter the
information into the Study Guide for future use.

In the
present document, I will begin by focusing on the task of
summarizing the Entwistle textbook.Then I will discuss the Exams that are part of this
course.

Your Assignment

“After listing the name of the book and author, summarize
the book concisely in 500 “tight” words (no more than 2
pages).
The summary is
not a commentary or listing of topics, but rather a
heartfelt, condensed, insightful synopsis of the longer,
more elaborate book. Cite
the book in text at least once per paragraph, and include
page numbers for direct quotations.”

Note

·Don’t just list topics or chapter headings.

·Show me that you have really thought about this
book and the message that it conveys

·Limit your summary to two pages

·Limit your words to 500 words

·Cite the textbook at least once per paragraph

·Include page numbers for direct quotations

Keep this Assignment in Perspective

Although summarizing a large textbook seems like a daunting
task, your summary is intended to be concise.To put things in perspective, the first paragraph of
this document contains over 100 words.For most of you, your problem will not be one of
trying to “write more” or to find more things to say;
instead, the problem will be one of trying to be concise,
insightful, and “to the point.”

In fact, you will probably find it extremely difficult to
summarize such a great deal of information in a very limited
space.This
problem is reflected in the following famous quotation: “I
would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn’t have
time” (author unknown).

Entwistle’s Textbook

·
Getting the “Big Picture”

·
Read the “Introduction” which appears on the front inside
flap of the book cover.

·See
if you can put in your own words the purpose of the book.

·
Read the testimonials on the back cover of the book.

·Do
these testimonials help you understand the purpose of the
book?

·
Read the author’s biography (inside flap of the back cover).

·
What is the author’s background and training?

·How
might the author’s education and professional training
influence his writing?

·
Read the Preface to the textbook.

·
What does the author state that he is attempting to do in
this book?

·
Read the introduction to the book:“Introduction: The Fork in the Road.”

·The
“Introduction” clarifies the author’s assumptions.

·
Make a list of the author’s main assumptions regarding
integration.

·
Most of the chapters have a “Summary” section at the end.

·
These chapter summaries will be especially helpful when
attempting to complete your 4-MAT review.

Things to Think About While
Reading Entwistle’s textbook

·If
you had to pick one word to describe the main theme of the
book, what word would you choose?

·
Basically, the entire book can be viewed as an argument for
___________.

·
Now, go through and determine how Entwistle goes about
justifying (arguing for) integration. How does he deal with
objections to integration?

·
What is his chief argument for integration?“All ______ is God’s _______.”

·Why
does he feel that integration is inevitable?

·How
do worldviews affect the process of integration? Why does
Entwistle deal with the topic of worldviews?

·How
does Entwistle rationalize different approaches to finding
truth (science vs. hermeneutics) and how does the marriage
of the two methods provide an “appealing” framework for
integration?

·How
do naturalism and supernaturalism lead to different ways of
understanding the world? How do the assumptions
underlying each approach affect the integration process?

·How
does Entwistle use the “testimonials” at the end of the book
to illustrate/justify integration?

I will stop
here so that you can use your own thinking
skills. Basically, I am suggesting that your summary could
be thought of as a tightly constructed narrative that
“unfolds” Entwistle’s arguments for the integration of
psychology and Christianity.

I strongly
suggest that you start by making “bullets” for all the
points you want to make. Then organize the points and start
to consider how you will move from one point to another as
you “unfold” your narrative. Before you can write
effectively, you need to know “where you are going.” Do not
start writing until you can clearly see “the big picture”
and understand how your narrative will flow from beginning
to end.

Make sure each paragraph links to the previous
paragraph—with proper transitions--as you recap Entwistle's
argument for integration. Some paragraph openings and
transitions might look like this:

·
Entwistle's opening argument for integration focuses on...

·
Entwistle begins his argument for integration by focusing
on...

·
Entwistle then proceeds to...

·His
next argument for integration focuses on...

·
Perhaps his most cogent argument for integration...

·To
further bolster his argument, Entwistle uses "testimonials"
to...

Preparing for Exams

The exams in
this course consist of multiple choice questions that are
drawn from both the textbook chapters and the Blackboard
presentations.
Most students don’t realize that many of the test questions
come from the presentations.A complete transcript of the presentations is
available in the Course Spreadsheet.It is also possible to view the content of the
presentations in the “Presentation Notes” that appear in the
upper left-hand corner of the presentations.

I strongly
advise that you download the complete transcripts from the
following website links: